Libya’s first female foreign minister was released from office on Sunday because of talks with her colleague Eli Cohen. The next day Najla al-Mankush was dismissed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba. The Libyan Authority for Internal Security (ISA) said she was not allowed to leave the North African country until official investigations began. However, several sources report that al-Mankush has already fled to Istanbul.
Tough diplomatic mission
It is not yet known why al-Mankush is to be investigated. However, Israel is not recognized by Libya, so the two countries do not have diplomatic relations. The politically torn Libya has so far been united on the side of the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict, which is why the meeting in Rome triggered massive protests in Libya. In several cities, people took to the streets to demonstrate against a possible normalization of relations with Israel.
Anti-Israeli protests in Tripoli on SundayImage: Yousef Murad/AP Photo/picture alliance
The three-member Presidential Council, which represents the three regions in the civil war country, demanded “clarification” from the government and called on Prime Minister Dbaiba to take legal action against the minister if the meeting took place. In Libya, two governments and several militias are fighting for power and influence.
Arranged by the highest authority?
Two high-ranking Libyan government officials assured the US news agency AP that the prime minister himself initiated the talks between his foreign minister and the Israeli chief diplomat. The French news agency AFP quotes the Libya expert Anas El Gomati from the Sadek Institute, according to which Prime Minister Dbaiba and his rival, General Chalifa Haftar, were also in the know. Both “used Libya’s first female foreign minister as a scapegoat for decisions in which they were all involved,” he said.
In a first reaction, the Libyan foreign office spoke soothingly of a “coincidental and unofficial meeting” between the two foreign ministers when al-Mankush visited her Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani. There was “no discussion” at all.
Hassle-free announcement by Israel?
From the Israeli side, the encounter was initially presented very differently. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the talks were about possible cooperation. Cohen was quoted as saying that Libya’s size and strategic location presented an “immense opportunity for the State of Israel.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (archive)Image: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
On Monday, however, the ministry retracted all statements about the meeting, saying unauthorized information about it had “leaked”. In Israeli media, however, sources close to Cohen insist Libyan officials knew the gathering would be public.
Sharp criticism of the opposition
The Israeli foreign minister’s handling of the sensitive meeting has been met with fierce criticism in Israel. Opposition leader Jair Lapid writes on Platform X: “This morning, the countries of the world are looking at the irresponsible leak (…) and are asking themselves: Is this Israel a country with which we can maintain external relations? Is this a country with which one can trust?”
Israel’s foreign relations are a “sensitive matter,” especially when it comes to an Arab country, writes opposition politician Benny Gantz on X. “If you do everything for PR and headlines without taking responsibility and thinking ahead, that’s exactly what happens.”
rb/wa (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)